National individual consultancy to provide technical support to MoES in integration of Competency Based Education and blended learning, 260 w/ds (2 years), Dushanbe, Tajikistan (for Tajik na

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Education

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Currently, the Government of Tajikistan prioritizes strengthening the competency-based approach in education through the revision of the curriculum, strengthening of teacher professional development and reforming the assessment system. In 2020, the Government of Tajikistan has also partnered with UNICEF within the framework of the “Support to National Education Development Strategy for the period until 2030” project, jointly implemented with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) - herewith referred to as the project. This project is aimed at supporting the curriculum reform through the following activities: 1) stocktaking of current achievements; 2) improving pre-service and in-service teacher training systems through introduction of blended learning modalities and Competency Based Education (CBE) pedagogy 3) revision of Math and Language curriculum and design of language materials, 4) introduction of new formative and summative assessment strategies and 5) strengthening of in-classroom support system.

Since 2012 efforts have been taken by the MoES to transition from knowledge to competency-based education and in 2019 the country announced that CBE was mainstreamed in all grades of general secondary education. However, a number of national learning assessments completed in 2020 and 2021 and a stocktaking of CBE resources exercise conducted within the framework of GPE/ISDB project by UNICEF, demonstrated that there are still gaps in implementation of CBE, which need to be addressed to ensure improved students’ learning outcomes at all levels. UNICEF has leveraged partnerships and expertise to reform the in-service teacher professional development and in-classroom support systems promoting a unified approach to teacher learning and growth through establishing Continuous Professional Learning system.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF is seeking for national consultant to further support the development and implementation of below components and ensure a comprehensive approach to the project implementation and address CBE in general secondary education with a focus on a) revision of the curriculum and standards b) reforming in-service teacher professional development and support systems c) introduction of blended learning modalities and Competency Based Education (CBE) in two key areas: (i) designing of blended learning content and ii) upgrading teacher preparation and professional development systems through introduction of blended learning approaches and in-classroom continuous support system.

DUTY STATION/DURATION:

Duration: 260 working days for 2 years (March 2023 - December 2024)

Duty station: Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Supervisor: Section Chief, UNICEF Tajikistan

Reporting to: Education Specialist

The purpose of this assignment together with international consultants is to support the MoES in ensuring further coordination of various components related to CBE approaches and testing and piloting of the best practices related to in-service professional development and school support system. The national consultant will be responsible to work on various components of the project in ensuring linkages and interconnectedness of the components and coordinate the testing of the developed models and products in 30 selected schools.

1. The first, assignment is to focus on establishing clear connections between in-classroom support and other components of, including liaising with national and international experts specifically related to assessment and Inclusive education appointed by UNICEF working on teacher preparation and professional development systems as well as curriculum revision support. This will include ensuring effective communication between various teams engaged in implementation of different components of the project, as well as development of frameworks, organization of regular meetings and presentation of the overall progress of the project (Big Picture) to the MoES and key education stakeholders.

2. The second, assignment will include: a) further testing of in-classroom support system and the functions of all institutions engaged in provision of mentoring support to teachers followed by recommendations for creating a more effective and efficient system in line with CBE; b) development of comprehensive CBE roadmap for MoES and stakeholders; c) testing of best practices related to in-classroom support, including development of new tools and approaches and d) establishing a feedback mechanism between curriculum developers and teachers;

3. The third, is to support the strengthening of teacher preparation and professional development systems using blended learning approach, further replacing current workshop-based, face-to-face teacher training programmes with continuous professional development and in-classroom support.

The fourth, is to build the capacity of the MoES, affiliated agencies and textbook writers in development of competency-based Math and Language standards and teaching and learning materials. Assist the MoES identified curriculum and textbook development experts in the revision and development of new textbooks and CBE materials.

Scope of Work: (Background, purpose, key objectives, description of assignment)

Under direct supervision by the Education Section Chief and technical support from the Education Specialist and the national Working Group at the MoES the consultant is expected to perform and accomplish the following tasks:

To achieve the objectives of this assignment, the following key interventions are required:

• Ensure effective coordination between various components of the projects
• Developing and implementing a mechanism for efficient and effective communication between the teams involved in the implementation of various project components including assessment, preservice component, and inclusive education.
• Preparing and running participatory workshops for teams involved in the implementation of various project components (on a bi-monthly basis)
• Preparing and running workshops on project implementation progress/results under steering committee for MoES and DCC/LEG (once every three months)
• Establish links between the in-classroom support system and other projects components through:
• Implementing a framework for testing newly developed materials in project pilot schools
• Implementing a framework for integrating in-service blended courses into the teacher support system
• Providing comments and suggestions for adapting current digital learning platforms to the needs of the in-classroom support system
• Preparing and facilitating capacity building workshops for future mentors (in a blended format)
• Providing support to in-country workshops for the development and testing of developed instruments
• Collecting examples of “best practice” in pilot schools in different formats (video examples of classroom interaction, feedback to pupils’ written work, etc.) to be shared with other teachers
• Organizing a conference for exchanging best practice among teachers and mentors
• Ensure ongoing capacity building of various education stakeholders (MoES and affiliated agencies staff engaged in development of various digital content, CSOs, Parental organizations) in designing blended learning content.
• Conduct series of ongoing workshops on designing blended learning content with focus on pedagogy of self-paced and self-regulated learning for a) various education stakeholders (short-term) and b) for teacher preparation and professional development systems (long-term with elements of ongoing support incorporated).
• Provide ongoing support to selected experts from teacher preparation and professional development system in designing blended learning courses, including one on Inclusive Education and mentoring. This task will be based on the review of existing resources in the region.
• Guide the testing and revision of developed content in 30 project schools
• Provide recommendations on mainstreaming the approach within the overall teacher support system, specifically in relation to improving the existing platforms to include necessary functionalities as well as trainers’ skills to provide ongoing support.
• Provide recommendations to create linkages between the existing platform and teacher professional development database, including the assessment and certification of courses.
• Ensure ongoing monitoring, documenting and evidence generation for scaling up the newly introduced approach.
• Revision of Math and Tajik Language curriculum and TLMs mainstreamed through close linkages with other key components of the project for a more consistent and comprehensive modelling of CBE reform.
• Ongoing capacity building for curriculum and textbooks developers in line with CBE approach and international standards through series of workshops, regular consultative meetings and remote support to teams with practical assignments and reviews.
• Review of midline results and give recommendations on incorporating the assessment of learners’ proficiency in Tajik language and Math. This might require development of new tools to assess the level of learners’ proficiency of math or providing concrete suggestions on mainstreaming math competency assessment across other areas of midline, such as use of textbooks and in-classroom support system.
• Provide guidance and day to day coordination to national experts identified by UNICEF and Ministry of Education and Science in the completion of the deliverables.
• Provide technical assistance to other key consultants on mainstreaming the approach to CBE (used in revision of curriculum and material development) across other components of the project

Guide the process of development of a set of math and Tajik language materials for grade 5, their testing and finalization in close collaboration with identified local experts.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Education: University degree in the fields of education, with focus on teacher preparation and professional development, competency-based education, use of technology, blended-learning approaches.
• Work experience: At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in the area of education, teacher training, and/or lifelong learning at the policy, management and operational levels with the MoES and affiliated institutions.
• Competencies: Strong coordination skills, analytical and conceptual thinking. Ability to work with large teams and guide policy discussions. Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills with stakeholders. Ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe.
• Languages: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Russian and Tajik is an asset.

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application/CV.
2. A technical proposal with proposed approach to managing the consultancy deliverables, showing understanding of tasks. Special attention should be paid to organizing the process of co-development and capacity building.
3. Financial quote (separate from technical proposal in TJS) for the consultancy in per deliverable, also stating the timeframe for completion of deliverable and/or daily rate as well as travel and subsistence costs, as applicable (24 days for two years (to visit pilot schools for testing of CPL and training of mentors);
4. Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

Applications must be received in the system by 7 March 2023 on UNICEF website.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.